Five died on trawler with no lookout

The Silvery Sea, based at Mallaig on the west coast of Scotland, which was also overloaded with fish, took no action to avoid the Merkur off the Danish coast. The Merkur took avoiding action too late after assuming that the Silvery Sea would get out of the way, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch report said.

Under international regulations, the Merkur had right of way. When the chief officer of the Merkur realised that there was a risk of imminent collision, he sounded a warning signal but the trawler did not respond. It is unlikely that the trawler would have sunk if one of the starboard doors had been secured, said the MAIB.

Alexander "Zander" Manson, 57, from Mallaig, the Silvery Sea skipper, died together with Alexander Mackenzie, 32, from Mallaig; Alan MacDonald, 31, and Michael Dyer, 36, both from Arisaig; and William Tait, from Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire.

The accident occurred in fine weather on the morning of June 14, 1998, 35 miles west of Esbjerg. The Silvery Sea, which was making for Esbjerg with 530 tons of fish, was overloaded, the report said.